Yeah... If Wharton had jumped ship at the same age I doubt he would be starting for a premier league team now and getting in the england squad. The stats on going from academy to premier league starter must be tiny. I bet if Harvey Elliott had stayed at Fulham he would have had a big CL move by now and be in the England squad rather than a bit player at Liverpool.. Conversely if Bellingham had gone straight to Man U or Liverpool from Brum I think he would not be where he is.... Silly decision by Finneran for me.

Bit of a conundrum how we setup... Its hard to say what our strengths are really and how to play to them... With Szmodic on his way out and Wharton lomg gone we haven't really got a key player to build around... I think we will probably go same as the Stockport side but maybe give Ohashi a start at 10? Drop Travis if he is really pushing to leave, play JRC in the middle with Tronstad, Dolan on the right, Hedges left and Big Mak up front?

Hmmm... I would have thought wing back is only beaten by full back in terms of expectations on how much ground to cover? All of attacking mid, number 10, wide forward seem less fitness demanding than wing back to me?

I like him a lot but like Mani says he needs someone more creative beside him.... Really Buckley should be ideal for that role but hes going backwards at a rate of knots. Big season for Bucko.. hes obviously out of favour and I think he could go in January if he doesnt kick on.

Yeah I think it will be more about Travis wanting to leave than Eustace pushing him out. We basically told him we dont value him. The team that wanted him ultimately got promoted. Ergo its quite logical that Travis will think he can do better elsewhere, with the extra money and longer contract etc a move will bring.

Yeah... The question I always ask of a striker is "will this player worry defenders" and big Mak will every time the ball comes in. Long time since we've had that. Other players will benefit too as he will draw so much attention from defenders.

I think Pickering is decent personally. Had a few shockers - who hasnt in this squad - but generally solid and way down the problem list. There are better players (JRC, Hedges) who are more of an issue for me because they get injured so much that we cant really view them as any more than bit part participants.

Yeah feels like Eustace knows what we're doing to stay up this year. But all these one year deals and lack of renewals of existing squad does make the following season look a huge challenge. Probably JE is thinking pointless to do any long term planning with the state the clubs in. Just live hand to mouth.

Yeah it does make a big difference, especially when at our level centrebacks are usually so poor on the ball. If we do go 352 i could see Pickering playing LCB and the guy who was on loan in Scotland last year as LWB.

Any player in the Championship would sell their grandmother to play in the Premiership. Players who are 28 so at the end of their careers would sell their children. No one chooses to stay in the a level down if they have a top league offer. You would have to go all the way back to Steve Bull at Wolves to find a player who has voluntarily chosen to play at a lower level.

I reckon we're going to go for a 442 with a classic little and large combo of Gueye and Ohashi up top (I know Ohashi isn't that small, but compared to Gueye he is). With crossing you dont need to get it to the by line if you have a dominant figure in the box. The full backs can swing it in from deeper positions.

Got a feeling he is going to do well... sort of player I wish we had for a long time, since Graham left really. Someone who is a proper focal point. After years of wide forwards will be a breath of fresh air.

I think it was more to show him - like Philips - he would get games if he stuck with us. I reckon if we had been safe mid table he would have got more minutes but obviously wasn't an option with the death spiral.

He's a striker who likes running the channels so much he never actually gets in the box and is not good on the ball or finishing. First season he was with us on loan he played more like a proper central striker and scored a few and did okay, but when we bought him we used him as a wide player and that's persisted. We've had years of Gallagher running down the wing to positions where he could cross but 1 - he can't cross, and 2 - there is no one in the box to cross to as our big striker is on the wing...... It's a strange thing to say about a forward but he gets picked because he is effective without the ball. You won't find a more willing runner, he's relentless at pressing, and he is very good defending free kicks (but rubbish at attacking them for some reason). He does give the opposition something to think about with his size and pace - until they realise if he does get the ball it's not that big of a problem as he can do so little with it. I'd say you might get a reasonable signing if you can get him to play more centrally again, but we've tried it from time to time and it has never worked.

Every situation has a tipping point where due to changing events what was sustainable no longer is.... in terms of Venkys owning Rovers that has happened over the last year in my opinion with the court case. There's lots of steps to get through but eventually Venkys will exit the club. Owning the club is just too onerous, the risks and expenses too high, the negative press, the lawyers, the attention from the Indian government, hopefully the entry of the UK regulator too. Not sure if there is a way to bet on it on the market, but I would take a bet that they will be gone in a year. They will just have to rip of the band aid at some point and write off the losses they have made on their balance sheet. One question I have is can they take any money out of the club? With all the player sales we must be in a rare positive cash flow situation. Presumably they would be able to call back some of their loans / cash some of their shares and take some of that money back? I guess if that happened it would be public knowledge like the share issues in the first place?

Its a horrible consultancy phrase... But there is truth to it. We get very good young players because they can see how they will get games.

The implementation of the football regulator was in the Kings Speech and should come into effect in this parliament... We need to make sure we are top of the in tray when it gets setup. If we can get the magnifying glass applied to Venkys it will hurry the end game we are surely in along, and stop any back sliding imo. Have any of the supporter groups got any plans on engaging with it?

Yes.... We seem to serially line up players then everything falls down when there is the final sign off from Venkys . We haven't managed to commit to a fee since the trouble in India kicked off (apart from O'Riodan?) so Im not counting on anything until we see them actually play a game...

So I reckon Gueye is straight swap for Gallagher and Ohashi for Sam Szmodics. So good we have found replacements but we are ultimately standing still at best. We still need 1 x CF, 1 x AM, 1x winger, 1 x CM, 1 x CB, 1 x GK....

Ha good point! Guess Oddschecker have a bug... looks like Rovers are 4th favorites for the drop.

He's scored 31 goals in 91 games in the Belgium top division so to be honest is actually got a better record than I was expecting.... Also his current club paid EUR 3mill for him a year ago apparently. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/makhtar-gueye/profil/spieler/606849

I think in previous years the thread has got kick off way too early, but I think most neutral onlookers do have us in the relegation battle this year. We're around 5th favourite for relegation.... So a very reasonable topic to raise. I don't think we have ever gone into a season in the Champioship in the relegation top 5 favourites? Even when under Coyle etc.

Hedges like JRC is a good player at this level.. Issue is between them we will be lucky to get 40 games a season. Sigurdsson also injured very frequently. If we go into the season relying on them to start regularly we will only have ourselves to blame when we free fall over Christmas.

We're definitely a midfielder light even with Buckley - we only have Travis, Tronstad, Buckley, JRC. Minimum we need is five. Unless we count Garret but I wouldnt include him in five starters at this stage as he really struggled last year. Also with Szmodics going we could well see JRC and/or Buckley moved up to number 10

Yeah, I think so.... If they are looking for an exit probably now is their best shot. Wharton, Szmodics, Raya money means maybe £30M in one summer. Only a small dent compared to what they put in. But could take that and just go. Hard to see when they would next be able to get such a good return.